Interviews

Arriving at the interview

The impression you create in the first 60 seconds can be very important in creating the right rapport between you and the interviewer(s):

• Be courteous and friendly towards everyone you meet – anyone may be assessing you, including the receptionist.
• Remember to switch your phone off as soon as you arrive at the interview.
• If you are a smoker, make sure you have mints or spray to remove the tobacco smell long before you enter the building – it lingers and can be off-putting.
• Make an effort to present a confident appearance and greet the interviewer(s) with a firm handshake.
• Wait to be seated – don’t just assume one of the chairs is yours.
• Don’t worry if you feel nervous or apprehensive before the interview. Remember that interviewers are not expecting you to be perfect. They will be looking at your future potential, and whether you have the ability, knowledge and motivation to fit into their organisation and make a valid contribution.
• Above all, try to stay positive and remember that any experiences you have as part of the recruitment process are an opportunity for you to learn and develop.

Meeting the interviewers

Your body language, including non-verbal signals such as your gestures and posture, your tone of voice, and the type of words you use all affect the way the interviewer will view you. Here’s how to create a good impression through your body language:

• Maintain eye contact to convey listening, interest and If it’s a panel interview, look (mainly) at the interviewer who is asking the question but also make sure you glance at or include the others on the panel when responding. Don’t stare at your interviewer but make eye contact naturally, as you would in a discussion.
• Smile: smiling naturally and frequently indicates a good rapport with the interviewer and indicates that you are confident and relaxed and potentially can fit into the team.
• Good posture: sit well back and comfortably in the chair. Relax (but be careful not to slouch) with your feet firmly on the ground.
• Control your gestures: no movement at all is not natural and may be considered as passive and rigid behaviour. However, if you have the tendency to fling your arms around, clasp them on your lap.

Questions relating to your education, qualifications, interests and work experience:

• Why did you choose the University of Bradford and why this course?
• What do you enjoy most / least about your work placement and why?
• What do you think you have gained from your time at The University of Bradford?
• Tell me about your final year project / dissertation / thesis.
• What do you regard as your greatest personal achievement?
• Tell me about your interests outside of your academic studies.

Questions aimed at finding out more about you (attitudes, values, motivation, personal qualities and interpersonal skills):

• What do you think are your particular strengths? What are your areas for development?
• What skills / qualities do you think make you suitable for the job?
• What do you look for in a job?
• What other qualifications are you considering?
• Are you willing to travel for the role?
• Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Technical / specialist questions

• Tell me about your thesis / dissertation / final year project.
• Describe your experience in database design.
• What experience have you had of analysing new systems?
• How would you improve our store layout?
• What do you think about the new drug on the market?

Theoretical questions

• What do you think are the difficulties and key issues facing our industry?
• How would you define marketing, human resources, etc?
• What do you understand by the term ‘management’?
• What do you think are the qualities needed to be an effective civil engineer, social worker, teacher, business analyst, etc?

Hypothetical questions

• What would you do if you were the Managing Director of this company?
• Our ‘After Sales Service Department’ has been receiving an increasing number of complaints from customers recently. If you were the leader of the team, what would you do?
• If you found someone unconscious on the pavement, what would you do?
• An important client has indicated that you should sell his shares when they reached a particular price but that you should check with him first. You were unable to contact him despite trying for the last few days, what would you do?
• A supplier has just informed you that he cannot deliver an essential product you ordered tomorrow – you were counting on this delivery as it will affect production. What would you do?

Tricky questions

These questions revolve around self-awareness. Everybody has weaknesses and employers want to know that you are aware of yours and that you are doing something to improve them.

• What would you say are your weaknesses and what steps have you taken to address these?
• What kind of situation would make you frustrated and give up on the tasks you have been doing?
• You seem to have left your job search until after completing your degree. Is this a deliberate choice?
• You took four years to complete your degree course rather than three. Can you tell me why?

Competency-based questions

• Give an example of when you have had to explain something to someone. How did you ensure they understood you?
• Tell me about a time when you had to influence someone to your point of view.
• Can you give an example of when you have provided good customer service?
• Describe a situation where you have planned and organised an event, project or activity, which involved a fixed deadline. How successful was the result?
• What aspects of your work have involved working with others?

See more about answering competency-based questions on our applications page.

Strength-based questions

• What are you good at?
• What comes easily to you?
• Describe a successful day you have had.
• Have you ever built a relationship with someone who doesn’t share common goals with you?
• Which do you like more – meeting new people or completing a task?

Stress interview questions

• What makes you think you could do this job?
• How do you feel this interview is going?
• How would you handle undeserved criticism from a superior?
• You didn’t answer that question well. Try again.
• How would you change the design of a clock?
• What kind of biscuit would you be?

'Curveball' questions

• How would you describe yourself in one word?
• Tell me about when you were a kid. Who did you want to be?
• What didn’t you get a chance to include on your CV or application?
• What is the last thing you’ve learned on the job?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how weird are you?

For telephone interviews

• Charge your phone in advance.
• Be ready 10 minutes before the interview time. Get into the ‘interview mentality’. Have your CV / application form and a checklist of the skills or qualities the employer requires in front of you so you can clearly focus on what they want.
• Make sure your environment is free from interruptions - switch off all devices you’re not using to avoid distractions. If you live with others or you’re in a shared space let everyone know that you are expecting an important call.
• Think of the tone and volume of your voice – be as enthusiastic as possible, because the interviewer only has your voice to go on and remember, a smile can be ‘heard’ down the line.
• Answer the telephone confidently and professionally – answering with “Who dis?”, “What did you say your name was?” or “Which company are you from?” is not going to get you off to a good start. Remember, first impressions count.
• Think of your posture. The way you sit can help you relax, breathe properly and project your voice and yourself more effectively. Imagine the posture you would have for a face-to-face interview. Some people stand up and dress as they would do for a face-to-face interview as this gives them confidence.
• Have a glass of water handy in case you dry up.

For video interviews

• Make sure your face is clearly visible - position yourself in a brightly lit area with the light in front of you.
• A plain room is best with no distractions in the background.
• Dress smartly, and don’t forget to wear smart trousers or skirt in case you have to get up during the interview.
• Arrange a test call with a friend in advance to make sure you’re comfortable with the set up and everything is working correctly.
• Minimise the video image of yourself (so that you are not tempted to watch yourself).
• Confirm that the employer can see and hear you clearly.
• The employer expects eye contact as anything else can be a distraction, so look in the camera when you are speaking.
• Avoid speaking over anyone. A slight delay is possible on video calls, so it’s important to allow people to finish speaking, otherwise you risk missing information.

DO ask about:

• The job, organisation, department, training and opportunities for progression (see below for examples)
• Information you need which may affect your decision about whether to accept the job or not, e.g. location, company culture, long-term goals, etc.
• The next stage of the recruitment process (if relevant).

Some suggested questions are as follows, but make sure that they have not been answered already during the course of the interview:

• Can you tell me more about the specific projects I would likely be involved in?
• What are the objectives and priorities of the post in the first 3-6 months? How will they be measured? What training and induction am I likely to receive?
• In terms of career progression, what has happened to graduates or others who have held this position in the past? What is the typical career path for people in this position? How is growth and continuous learning promoted?
• Does the department or role have particular peaks and troughs in workload? What is the most challenging aspect of the role?
• Who will be my direct line manager or who will be supervising my work on a daily basis? What is their role? Could you tell me a little about your role in the company?
• How is performance measured in the job? How is high performance recognised?
• Why is the position open?
• What is the company’s strategy for the next 5 years?

DON'T ask about:

• Things that are covered in the employer’s literature or on their website. You should already know this thoroughly.
• Anything considered trivial e.g. Christmas holiday closure dates.
• Pay, pensions and benefits. However, if you really do need to ask then either contact Human Resources separately or ask in a sensitive manner e.g. “Sorry to ask this but please can you give me an indication of the salary range of this post as it was not indicated in the literature.”
• Questions where it could appear as though you are trying to catch out the employer e.g. “What are your views on the recent press coverage of the company’s share price fall?”
• How you have performed in the interview. The interviewer(s) are unlikely to tell you as they will need to review all candidates at the end of the interviews and what will you gain from asking at this stage?

If all your questions have already been answered during the interview, you could talk about what you were going to ask and share your thoughts on the information you’ve learned - this could lead to an interesting discussion with the interviewers.

If there is something relevant that you had hoped to say in the interview and not had the opportunity to include in your answers, then you could consider using the time at the end of interview for your questions to tell the interviewers about your experience or skills. 

As you leave you may wish to thank the interviewers for inviting you to the interview.